Shadow of Determination
by RainyDayze
Summary: I was really upset at Shinjiro Aragaki's death in Persona 3:FES, so I decided to write this FanFic about it. It takes place a day or two after Shinjiro joins the group, only, I decided to throw a mysterious chick named May, into it all. See what happens.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1-Iwatodai Station- Ramen Shop

**Chapter 1-Iwatodai Station- Ramen Shop**

May walked into "Hagakure" the ramen shop in Iwatodai station. She sat next to Shinjiro, who was in his usual place, gulping down ramen like he was starving.

She ordered the house special.

"So, I heard you joined the team, congrats."

Shinjiro didn't even look up.

"I mean yeah," she continued "Teams are great, if you aren't strong enough on your own." She let the last bit sink in. After a second, Shinjiro put his chopsticks down and turned to her.

"You got a problem?" he said. The cook set her bowl of ramen in front of her. "Me? Nope. But I think Strega might…"

Shinjiro's eyes widened, and he looked at the crimson haired, violet-eyed teenager beside him "What? How do you know about Strega?"

"That's not important, and to tell you the truth, I wouldn't have cared, but-,"She took a huge swig of her ramen bowl."-You attempted to help me in that alleyway, even though it didn't work at all." She took another swig. "So, I'm going to attempt to help you." She pushed her empty bowl away, and stood up. "Ever since they lost their navigator, they're thinken' about putting yours outta commission."

While he was mulling over what she said, she beckoned the cook over and whispered something but Shinjiro was too distracted to hear what.

"Well…have a nice dinner Shinjiro!" May said, winking at him and walking out.

'What's she so happy about?' he wondered as he finished his ramen.

After he was done, the cook came up to him. "That'll be 2,000 yen."

"Huh? But one bowl's only 1,000." "Yeah, but don't forget your sister's bowl." The cook said.

Shinjiro blinked. "My…Sister…?"

"Yep, so pay your guys's debt or I'll have you washing dishes

for the rest of the night!" the cook replied.

Shinjiro paid the price, using up nearly all of his money.

On his was to the door, every person he passed got a sudden shiver from all his fury radiating around him.

When he exited the building, the annoyed teen yelled at the top of his gruff voice, "May, you whoooooore!!"

Somewhere a few blocks away, May heard the echo, and smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1-Iwatodai Station- Ramen Shop

**Chapter 2- Dorm**

Things in the dorm were same as usual, Junpei was playing his handheld video game, Mitsuru was reading, Fuuka was on her laptop, Koromaru was begging Yukari for her dinner, Ken was drinking coffee to stay-up, Aigis was on observation mode, and Akihiko was polishing his prized boxing gloves.

However, all looked up in surprise then Shinjiro Aragaki kicked the front door open and stalked in with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Hey Shinji, you're a little late tonight, huh? We were starting to think we'd have to go to Tartarus without you." Said Akihiko.

Shinji glared at him. "I didn't have enough money on me to ride the train home."

"You serious? Then how'd you get here?"

Shinjiro sat on a stool, putting up his tired feet. "Walked on the tracks."

As expected, there were several reactions to that.

Junpei: "Woah!"

Fuuka: "Senpai that's dangerous!"

Mitsuru: "How reckless!"

Akihiko folded his arms. "You could have just called one of us, you know."

"Sorry, must have forgot." Shinjiro said sarcastically.

"Yeah right!"

With-out warning, Shinjiro stood up and began to walk towards the stairwell. " Well look, if you're gunna bitch about it, I'm outta here, I don't need it."

Shinjiro climbed the stairwell up. "Shinji!" called Akihiko behind him, but he didn't turn back.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 1-Iwatodai Station- Ramen Shop Chapter 3

On the bed in his room, Shinjiro pulled out the bottle of pills he had gotten from Strega. The plastic was a tinted gray, so you couldn't see how many were in there, but Shinjiro knew there were 30. There were always 30 or 31, depending on the month.

One pill a day, everyday for a month. That was how the suppressants worked.

Taking the suppressant pills kept his persona under control, unlike Strega though, he didn't need them to keep his from killing himself, he needed them to keep his from killing other people.

Shinjiro popped the cap and shook a single, thin, white pill into his hand.

He hesitated, starring at the pill for a second, wondering if he really had to do this, then a flash of a woman lying in a puddle of her own blood, empty dead eyes starring off at something she could no longer see.

Shinjiro clenched his fist, putting his head in his hands. He trembled slightly at the old memory.

After a few moments he regained his emotions and swallowed the pill.

"Of course I need to do this…" he said quietly "I won't let anything like that night happen again…after all, it's because of me that-"

Shinjiro was startled by the sound of scratching on his door. Getting up, he went and opened the door.

He found Koromaru starring up at him, fuzzy white tail wagging.

"Oh, Koro-chan." He gave the dog a small smile. "Well…I guess you can come in…"

He opened the door wider, and Koromaru came in.

Shinjiro sat back on his bed, petting Koromaru on his head.

After a while, Koromaru's shiny black nose started to sniff at Shinjiro's left hand. "Sorry boy, there's no food…oh, you must smell the pill…"

Koromaru growled quietly, and the fur on his back bristled.

"So, you don't like them either…well sorry, but I have to take them, for the safety of you and everyone else…"

Koromaru nuzzled his hand, Shinjiro grinned. "Thanks for understanding. Oh and one more thing."

He lifted the dog up, up so that they were eye-level. "I know that android girl can understand dog-talk, so keep your snout shut about this okay?"

Koromaru blinked his wide, curiously red eyes at him, and before Shinjiro could dodge, licked him straight up the face.

"G-gack, hey, don't push your luck, just cuz' I owe you…"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 1-Iwatodai Station- Ramen Shop Chapter 4-

Later that night, the team was on the first floor of Tartarus, setting up and equipping for the night.

"Alright," said Minato, his sensitive gray eyes scanning the group. "We'll split up into 2 groups. I'll lead the first, and Junpei can lead the second."

"Are you serious!? Sweeeeet!" Junpei yelled.

Minato smiled. "Yeah, you deserved it. Okay, so my group will have Yukari, Akihiko, and Shinjiro. Junpei you'll take Aigis, Koromaru, and Ken. Mitsuru, please stay here and watch over Fuuka. Everyone okay with that?"

"Well…I'm not sure I can manage two parties at once …" said Fuuka.

"That's alright, Fuuka-san, the second group will be exploring the 2nd or 3rd level, while we'll be on the new, 4th one."

"Whaaat!?" Junpei said. "What's the point of that?"

"For practice and training. But, if you want, you can just wait down here like usual instead."

"T-That's Okay…"

"Alright, let's go." Minato's group went towards the access point and was transported to the 127th floor.

"Alright, think we're strong enough to split up?" Minato asked.

Yukari: "Uh…"

Akihiko: "Of Course."

Shinjiro: "…whatever."

"Hmm…just to be safe, try to avoid unnecessary battles."

They split up.

The floor was nothing they couldn't handle, and everyone's health stayed above ¾ths.

Eventually Akihiko found the stairs."What do you want to do?" They regrouped and went 5 more levels without a hitch.

"I think we should stop now," Akihiko panted during a break, beads of sweat had formed on his forehead and neck.

"We're all tired out and hot, god knows how Shinji must feel. You know, with that heavy trench coat and beanie…"

They all looked at Shinjiro. His face was a little flushed, but other than that, he appeared normal.

"I'm fine with whatever our _leader _has in mind." Shinjiro said sardonically.

Minato looked at him for a second. Classic Shinjiro. You either got mad, or got over it.

"Okay let's go. Fuuka-san, are you there?"

"I'm here." Fuuka's voice came into their minds. That was Fuuka's persona's ability. She could see things and hear things far away; she could sense when Shadow's were near, and even how strong they were. Mitsuru could do some of that, but her persona was more battle-oriented.

"We're coming down, is Junpei there yet?"

"Yes, just a few minutes ago he arrived, but…"

"But?" said Yukari

"Well…you'd better come check."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 1-Iwatodai Station- Ramen Shop Chapter 5-

They hurried to the Access Point and came to the first floor.

The group was gathered in a circle around something on the floor. Minato edged around Ken and Junpei, and what he saw made them gasp.

It was Aigis.

She was lying on the floor, sky-blue eyes blank.

Her entire body put off a red glow, heat radiating out of her.

"What happened!?" Minato practically yelled at Junpei, worry showing clearly in his eyes.

"H-hey man. I don't know. We were fighting the shadows like usual, a-and Aigis went into Orgia mode, but,"

"What!?"

"W-well…" Junpei looked down at Aigis sadly. "She heated up after using it, like normal ya know? She was supposed to power down and cool off, but…she didn't wake up. She hasn't cooled down either."

Minato knelt down, putting his hand to her forehead, but withdrawing it quickly, for it was hotter than a stove. "_Jeeze_…how'd you get her down here?"

"Junpei-senpai carried her!" Ken piped.

They all looked at Junpei, whose hands were in his pockets. "Ah…Well, you know me, I didn't want to leave anyone behind." He pulled his hands out of his pockets and rolled up his sleeves.

All along his arms were first-degree burns, making the skin raw and red.

Yukari hurried over to Junpei, "OH MY GOD, JUNPEI! Does it hurt?"

"No problem, Yuka-tan, I was the only one in my group who's strongest against fire so… anyone else could've gotten burnt worse."

Mitsuru Kirijo, who had been observing quietly until then, spoke up.

"Iori's right, because of his resistance to heat and flame, he only suffered minor first degree burns, but if anyone else had attempted to touch Aigis, they would have received 2nd or even 3rd degree burns from moving her."

There was a moment of uneasy silence between all of them.

Finally Akihiko broke it, "Well, we've got to move her… I mean, the Dark Hour'll be ending soon."

"B-but Junpei-kun's already hurt from carrying Aigis down here, how are we going to get her all the way back to the dorm?" Fuuka said, her voice strange. She looked like she was about to cry.

Minato stood up, the look on his face said he was thinking intently.

"Mitsuru…" he said softly.

She looked at him. "Yes?"

"Your experienced in ice spells, right?"

"Yes."

"Good, try casting Bufu on Aigis."

"Uh, isn't that a little risky, Minato-san? I mean, sure, an ice attack might cool her down… bit, what if it hurts' her?" Yukari said nervously.

"Well, either we can try freezing her, or we can leave her here in Tartarus, which sounds better?"

Yukari:"…"

"Ok, everybody stand back," Junpei yelled. "Oh, Minato, what do we do when Aigis is frozen?"

"One of us will have to carry her…" "Someone who's strong…" he added, turning to Akihiko and Shinjiro.

"Any volunteers?"

Akihiko and Shinjiro turned to each other, and, very solemnly pulled out their fists.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" they yelled.


End file.
